Eat Boutique - Food Gift LoveEat Boutique – Food Gift Lovehttp://eatboutique.com
Food Gift LoveThu, 08 Dec 2016 16:50:24 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.1Our Favorite 2016 Food-Related Gifts for Everyone on Your Holiday Listhttp://eatboutique.com/2016/12/08/favorite-2016-food-related-gifts-everyone-holiday-list/
http://eatboutique.com/2016/12/08/favorite-2016-food-related-gifts-everyone-holiday-list/#commentsThu, 08 Dec 2016 16:13:33 +0000http://eatboutique.com/?p=19263
Holiday shopping can be a bit tricky at times, especially if you’re at a loss for what to get for a certain someone. No more of that nonsense. This year, I’ve decided to take a different approach to gift giving. I’m only going to give Read more...]]>

Holiday shopping can be a bit tricky at times, especially if you’re at a loss for what to get for a certain someone. No more of that nonsense. This year, I’ve decided to take a different approach to gift giving. I’m only going to give the things that I love versus searching for things that they love. If I do it right, they will soon be one and the same.

Throughout the year, working at Eat Boutique and as a freelance recipe tester and writer, I encounter a great deal of food-related items, from kitchen tools to cookbooks (naturally) to small-batch goodies. I am constantly searching and trying new things to find the very best for my profession and lifestyle. With this in mind, I enlisted the help of Maggie, who is always on the lookout for the ultimate in everything food-related (she is the brains behind Eat Boutique and is opening a retail space soon, after all). Together, we created a list of our favorite items that we’ve loved in the last year.

We hope this quick guide will help make your holidays merry and bright (and stress-free).

KITCHEN TOOLS

The Best Tips and Tricks for All Your Cookie Gifts, Plus Cookie Recipeshttp://eatboutique.com/2016/12/07/best-tips-tricks-cookie-gifts-plus-cookie-recipes/
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Let’s be honest, this season is all about the cookie. Friends host swaps, neighbors exchange sugar-filled tins, kids decorate festive shapes, and families send boxes of love across the miles. If you are baking a batch of sweets for the loved ones in your life this Read more...]]>

Let’s be honest, this season is all about the cookie. Friends host swaps, neighbors exchange sugar-filled tins, kids decorate festive shapes, and families send boxes of love across the miles. If you are baking a batch of sweets for the loved ones in your life this year, I shared my tips and advice (from years of mishaps and victories in gifting and shipping) in three quick posts that I wrote for The Kitchn. You can get a closer look here:

http://eatboutique.com/2016/12/07/best-tips-tricks-cookie-gifts-plus-cookie-recipes/feed/0No Holiday Market This Year? Here’s Why. Plus, a Recipe for My Favorite Winter Drink Just for Youhttp://eatboutique.com/2016/12/02/no-holiday-market-year-heres-plus-recipe-favorite-winter-drink-just/
http://eatboutique.com/2016/12/02/no-holiday-market-year-heres-plus-recipe-favorite-winter-drink-just/#commentsFri, 02 Dec 2016 15:07:04 +0000http://eatboutique.com/?p=19255
Dear friends and customers, With American Thanksgiving now past and the winter holidays literally in our faces (like garland and twinkle lights and this holiday drink all over me), I wanted to share what’s going on in Eat Boutique land. Since the late summer, my Read more...]]>

Dear friends and customers,

With American Thanksgiving now past and the winter holidays literally in our faces (like garland and twinkle lights and this holiday drink all over me), I wanted to share what’s going on in Eat Boutique land. Since the late summer, my inbox has been flooded with questions about my annual holiday market – it’s truly humbling to read your eager messages. Sadly but for very good reasons, I will not host an Eat Boutique Holiday Market this year. While I know that may disappoint you and me both, this conclusion came to life after a lot of thought and sound business consideration. Let’s just say, it’s complicated and here are a few reasons why.

A GOOD SPACE IS HARD TO FIND:

Each year, it’s a struggle to find the right venue in terms of location, size, and capabilities. Whether on the train, the bus, or on foot, I want it to be way easy for you to get there, right? Right. I also need enough room for everyone (8,000 of you showed up last year) as well as the opportunity to iterate on events’ past based on your feedback, making the next event even more special, more functional, and true to my mission which is TO PROVIDE A NEW WAY TO FOOD.]]>

http://eatboutique.com/2016/12/02/no-holiday-market-year-heres-plus-recipe-favorite-winter-drink-just/feed/3A Few Insider Secrets on How to Mail Food Giftshttp://eatboutique.com/2016/12/01/insider-secrets-mail-food-gifts/
http://eatboutique.com/2016/12/01/insider-secrets-mail-food-gifts/#respondThu, 01 Dec 2016 09:17:14 +0000http://eatboutique.com/?p=19261
Are you shipping homemade food gifts to the ones you love this season? If so, I shared my tips and advice in two quick posts that I wrote for The Kitchn. You can get a closer look here: 5 Questions to Ask Before Mailing Food Read more...]]>

Are you shipping homemade food gifts to the ones you love this season? If so, I shared my tips and advice in two quick posts that I wrote for The Kitchn. You can get a closer look here:

Up Your Instagram Game with Tips and Tricks from Professional Food Stylist, The Bojon Gourmet! And Enjoy a Sweet Recipe from Her New Cookbook, Alternative Bakerhttp://eatboutique.com/2016/11/29/instagram-game-tips-tricks-professional-food-stylist-bojon-gourmet-enjoy-sweet-recipe-new-cookbook-alternative-baker/
http://eatboutique.com/2016/11/29/instagram-game-tips-tricks-professional-food-stylist-bojon-gourmet-enjoy-sweet-recipe-new-cookbook-alternative-baker/#commentsTue, 29 Nov 2016 14:47:48 +0000http://eatboutique.com/?p=19247
Instagram is such a wonderful tool for sharing your life and food stories with others. We love it. And we love posting on it. But, let’s be honest, styling and taking the right photo to post can have its challenges. This is why we’ve enlisted the help Read more...]]>

Instagram is such a wonderful tool for sharing your life and food stories with others. We love it. And we love posting on it. But, let’s be honest, styling and taking the right photo to post can have its challenges. This is why we’ve enlisted the help of someone who we respect greatly on and off social channels. Well, that, and we really wanted to know more about her new cookbook,

Squash this Thanksgiving: Roasted Pumpkin Cornbread and Spiced Pumpkin Seedshttp://eatboutique.com/2016/11/22/squash-thanksgiving-roasted-pumpkin-cornbread-spiced-pumpkin-seeds/
http://eatboutique.com/2016/11/22/squash-thanksgiving-roasted-pumpkin-cornbread-spiced-pumpkin-seeds/#respondTue, 22 Nov 2016 15:05:16 +0000http://eatboutique.com/?p=19222
Even when your host assures you and reassures you and then assures you some more that you definitely don’t need to bring anything to Thanksgiving Dinner, you should still bring something. Most people go with flowers, maybe a bottle of wine, but if I’ve learned Read more...]]>

Even when your host assures you and reassures you and then assures you some more that you definitely don’t need to bring anything to Thanksgiving Dinner, you should still bring something. Most people go with flowers, maybe a bottle of wine, but if I’ve learned anything in my study of family gatherings it’s that the bread basket is always the first to empty and that’s where you can save the day.

But in lieu of another kind of yeast roll or some sort of sliced bread, I like to bring along a skillet of freshly baked cornbread. My reasons are as follows: it’s portable, it’s neutral enough to be a crowd-pleaser, it can be reheated in an oven or eaten as is or even saved for another day, and best of all, it can be used to sop up gravy or saved for dessert and drenched in honey.

This is my family cornbread recipe, one that we turn to at least once a week, but I like to dress it up for special occasions like Thanksgiving with freshly roasted pumpkin puree. The best puree is roasted from fresh sugar pumpkins, the kind still sitting on your porch after Halloween, but you can sub in canned if you’re in a pinch.

And the best part about roasting your own pumpkin is the bonus of free pumpkin seeds, which you can toss with spices and roast alongside the squash! Cornbread for your host, and a bonus snack for you in case dinner takes longer to cook than expected.

]]>http://eatboutique.com/2016/11/22/squash-thanksgiving-roasted-pumpkin-cornbread-spiced-pumpkin-seeds/feed/0Baking Pumpkin Pie for a Good Causehttp://eatboutique.com/2016/11/22/baking-pumpkin-pie-good-cause/
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On Sunday, the Eat Boutique team and a collection of extended family members baked pies for Community Servings’ annual Pie in the Sky fundraiser. Community Servings is one of my favorite food-based non-profits — they deliver more than 500,000 meals to critically-ill, home bound folks Read more...]]>

On Sunday, the Eat Boutique team and a collection of extended family members baked pies for Community Servings’ annual Pie in the Sky fundraiser. Community Servings is one of my favorite food-based non-profits — they deliver more than 500,000 meals to critically-ill, home bound folks across Boston each year. The fundraiser works a little like this: chefs and bakers donate pies, you buy pies for Thanksgiving (they’re all sold out now!), and all that money funds those meals that are delivered weekly.

It’s an easy fundraiser to love because, well, pie! And any fundraiser that involves getting up at 5AM to bake pies with people I love is my kind of fundraiser. I’m so focused on opening a permanent Eat Boutique space that sometimes the joys and sorrows of the holidays get lost on me — I just push push push on through. This year, during a time when this world seems cloudy and confusing, I wanted to do something to remember that there are people out there who need our love and support — and that is more important than everything, than anything, really.]]>

http://eatboutique.com/2016/11/22/baking-pumpkin-pie-good-cause/feed/05 Ways to Use Newspaper in Your Everyday Lifehttp://eatboutique.com/2016/11/15/5-ways-use-newspaper-everyday-life/
http://eatboutique.com/2016/11/15/5-ways-use-newspaper-everyday-life/#commentsTue, 15 Nov 2016 22:09:06 +0000http://eatboutique.com/?p=19216
Now more than ever, when we should all be up to date on the real news and happenings of this country (!!!), is the time to buy or subscribe to local newspapers. Instead of tossing them out or scrunching them into a fireplace, however, I’ve Read more...]]>

Now more than ever, when we should all be up to date on the real news and happenings of this country (!!!), is the time to buy or subscribe to local newspapers. Instead of tossing them out or scrunching them into a fireplace, however, I’ve got several fun ways to extend the life of your favorite stories, sections, or images.

Certainly, there are special moments for the prettiest gift wrap (wedding gifts?) but everyday food gifts should be wrapped quickly, in a scrappy fashion, just good enough to create the element of surprise before it’s opened in five seconds flat. I opt to put my available money and time into the food I share, and never worry about wrapping or serving. Here are five ways I like to use my favorite newspapers (beyond reading them, of course) and I hope they come in handy to you as we enter this merry season.

1. Wrap a Box: Think about the last time you had to wrap a gift and didn’t have the right (or any) wrapping paper for the occasion. Enter newspaper as it is always in style and makes an ordinary box shine. Simply find the print you want to display and wrap the box accordingly so it shows.]]>